Thursday In The Square FREE Concert Series

Buffalo is a great place to live, especially in the summer when there are tons of festivals and free concert series and various other happenings.

Thursday in the Square is a great family event or date night. It's a FREE concert series from 5pm-9pm every Thursday from May 28th to July 30th. The location is Layfayette Square in Downtown Buffalo. Here's the line up:

May 28th - Gomez with special guests Steel Train and Alberta Cross
June 4th - The Disco Biscuits
June 11th - Robert Randolph & The Family Band with special guest The Dana Fuchs Band
June 18th - Better Than Ezra with special guest Tyrone Wells
June 25th - Los Lobos
July 2nd - Zappa Plays Zappa
July 9th - Los Lonely Boys
July 16th - George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic
July 23rd - Neko Case
July 30th - The Avett Brothers with special guest Cornmeal

Visit www.buffaloplace.com for information.

If you have some hot tips of what to do in The Buff email me at SaveInBuffalo@gmail.com or leave me a comment!

Got the Blues in The Buff?

Winter in Buffalo giving you the blues? Don't know what to do? For at least 6 months of the year here it seems like you are either shoveling yourself out of the driveway or doing a bucket brigade in your basement (maybe that's an over statement, but you know what I'm talking about). Well, as a stay at home mom it's important to know where you can go during the winter with you kids. Here's a list of a few of our favorite spots:

*McDonalds - Several locations in the area have an indoor Playland. Although the McDonalds website shows locations and whether they have a playland or not, I find that it is not accurate. Here are a few I've noticed that DO have a playland but are not listed to have one on the website:

• 2567 UNION RD, CHEEKTOWAGA, NY 14227, (716)656-7846
• 4987 TRANSIT RD, WILLIAMSVILLE, NY 14221, (716)204-0089
• 2058 ELMWOOD AVE, BUFFALO, NY 14216, (716)332-0206

You can go to McD's for Happy Hour with this deal or go on a Friday and get this burger deal which I also saw the fish sandwiches were $.29 at my local McDs! (burger deal good until April 24th)

*Boulevard Mall - In the food court at the Boulevard Mall is the Play Place where infants and toddlers can play and a carousel.
*Eastern Hills Mall - frequently has expos and other fun things for the family and the kids to do.
*The Aquarium at Niagra - if you have a Zoo pass you get 1/2 off admission and kids 3 and under are free! Make sure and plan your visit during one of the shows or animal feeding times so you get the biggest bang for your buck, also take along a lunch or snack - they have a picnic area too!
*Take advantage of the classes listed in the previous post at Pottery Barn, Kindermusik, Gymboree, your library or the Washington Street Music Classes.

Although we will not be venturing out for these finds this winter due to the new additions to our family, there's no reason why you can't (and I'll post it for safe keeping for myself too)!

So, what are your favorite spots?

What to do in The Buff

Free Stuff for the little ones:
*Fisher Price: Fisher Price has a program where (if you live in the Buffalo Area) you can sign you infant/toddler up to test products. Occasionally they will pay you for your time (I've gotten $50 so far). There are lots of other things they can pay you for as well, sitting on mommy review panels, taking photo shoots, etc. Email Sarah.Kancar@Fisher-Price.com
*Gymberee: Get a free class pass here
*Kindermusik: Get a free class coupon here
*Pottery Barn: Pottery Barn has story time in their store (Galleria Mall) every Tuesday. Each time you go you get a stamp in your book (for each child) after a certain number of stamps you get a $5 gift card to spend at their store! They also have a sing-a-long where you get stamps too!
*Walmart.com: go here to order your free samples each week.
*Library Story Time: go here for information on which libraries (here in Buffalo) have free story times and for which age group. There are also lots of other free events at the library!
*Boulevard Buddies: go here to sign up for Boulevard Buddies and play for free as well as other free events.

For the Adults:
*Albright-Knox Art Museum: every Friday you can get into the AKAM for free from 3p-10p (there is a $3 parking fee but take the whole family and it's really cheap). Go here for more details.
*Find out about the hiking trails in WNY here.

Not Free but Cheap for the kids:
*Washington Street Music Class, I believe it's $5 per class per family so the more kids you have the better deal it is. I also believe they meet every Thursday - not sure on the time.

This sight also has lots of good information on the area and what to do: Buffalo 4 Newbies